Re: Article dated January 15, 2005, “where parents of a small child received probation for the death of their child.” PROBATION? The parents were charged with murdering their 4-month-old daughter, who died with nine fractured ribs and a fractured clavicle – all different stages of healing. Prosecutor Mary Sullivan Moore said she reduced murder and child abuse charges because she couldn’t determine who caused the baby’s injuries. The medical examiner’s report shows the infant, died from failing to thrive due to multiple recent and old rib and clavicle fractures and “inappropriate administration of sedating antihistamines as a contributing factor.” The father was also sentenced to 10 years of intensive supervised probation for attempted aggravated child abuse and remained in custody pending extradition to Florida on charges of beating a pizza delivery man. The attorney, Mike Little, stated, “There is just no telling if there was a homicide and if there was, who did it.” PATHETIC. 1. Probation is inappropriate punishment for the death of a child. 2. From the Prosecutor to the Medical Examiner to the attorney, their comments were self-serving attempts at justifying the failure to prosecute a murder, and, at the very least, manslaughter. How can the prosecutor justify not filing charges where there is a body with significant and obvious abuse that circumstantially can be proven to have been inflicted by the parents. 3. How can the Medical examiner not find that the obvious signs of child abuse, neglect and inappropriate administration of medication did not ultimately prove to a reasonable mind that this abuse was a contributory factor in the death of the child? 4. How can the attorney justify a statement that a homicide did not occur and that the culprits could not be found? 5. In California, we just sentenced a man to die for the death of his wife and unborn baby. There were no witnesses and the medical examiners could not even list the cause of death. Wouldn’t Scott Peterson have liked to have these three individuals involved in this case? In Peterson’s case, thee were not witnesses to the crime, no cause of death, and the strong possibility of a “who dunnit?”
Terrorism comes in all forms. In the wake of 911, unknown, killed 3,000 innocent U.S. citizens. Our country was in an uproar. Millions of homes and vehicles proudly displayed American Flags. We bonded together as a United Nation. We shouted, “NO WAY.”
Fifteen months later, we adorn our homes with flags, yellow ribbons for our brave soldiers who are risking their lives to liberate the Iraqi people from horrific violations of their human rights. Saddam Hussein, feared by thousands, is accused of killing thousands of his own people by torture, gas and other evil ways. The United States has declared that they will rid Iraqi of these terrorists. This is a war of liberation. We cannot stand by and watch a nation of human beings being tortured. In fact, we are outraged even when a small group of soldiers, who have humiliated the enemy by striping them naked and taking, photos of them. Yes, we are Americans and we will not stand by for these injustices. We stand for civil rights for all human beings. Don’t we?
But, what about the children in these United States? Who is shouting from the rooftops to stop their God-given human rights from being violated? Every year there are over 5,000 children killed by their parents or caregivers.
Prosecutors reduce charges or do not charge offenders at all because existing murder statutes do not fit many child abuse and neglect fatalities. I wonder why beating an adult to death is any different from beating a child to death? They say cases can be difficult to prove in court. For example, most prosecutors have little or no experience with abuse and neglect cases; police often fail to gather sufficient evidence; and autopsies are seldom performed by medical examiners with pediatric expertise. Witnesses are rare aside from the abuser because most deaths occur in the privacy of the home, and some juries simply cannot believe that any parent or caretaker would commit such acts upon a child.
In one example of an attempt to anticipate jury disbelief, a Peoria, Illinois, prosecutor waited 7 months to issue a charge of manslaughter against a woman who killed her baby nephew with a stun gun. Brandon Jordon, age 7 months, died from multiple assaults from a 70,000-volt stun gun. Police say the aunt shot the baby numerous times on May 28, 1994, to stop his crying. Authorities were uncertain if they could convince a jury that anyone could commit such a terrible act, and prosecutors delayed charging the aunt while “investigating the effects of stun guns on children.” (Staff, Peroria Journal-Star, November 24 & 29, 1994.)
It’s time that the justice system stops sentencing child killers with probation and treating child abuse as the crime it really is.

Jane LeMond-Alvarez